


Knight Fall

by One_Real_Imonkey



Series: Twisted Memories AU [19]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano is a Sibling to the Clones, Anger, Angst, Boba Fett Needs A Hug, Child Murder, Clone Trooper Inhibitor Chips (Star Wars), Everyone Needs A Hug, Grief/Mourning, Hopeful Ending, Implied/Referenced Mind Control, Mand'alor Jango Fett, Mentioned Darth Vader, Murder, Nightmares, Order 66 (Star Wars), Order 66 Aftermath (Star Wars), Order 66 Happened Differently (Star Wars), Panic Attacks, Please Don't Kill Me, Pregnant Padmé Amidala, Sad, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29597100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/One_Real_Imonkey/pseuds/One_Real_Imonkey
Summary: Grievous is dead, Palpatine makes his move.The survivors are left to pick up the pieces.
Relationships: Ahsoka Tano & Clone Troopers, Boba Fett & Jango Fett, Jango Fett/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Twisted Memories AU [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2146377
Comments: 30
Kudos: 199





	Knight Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Hope the fluffy ones will help after this...  
> I don't own Star Wars.  
> Please enjoy.  
> Please...

Mustafar was a hot planet, oddly enough, and Obi-Wan hated it. Hated that it had slightly dulled the hiss of their sabres and the heat they gave off, hated the lava reflected in his precious child’s eyes, the way they burned as he walked away.

As he walked away and left Obi-Wan behind on the ash.

For an unknown length of time, all he could see was the hazy smoky orange sky, all he could hear was the sounds of the lava river the only other sound than his laboured breathing, all he could feel was the basaltic gravel under his back and the hole in his chest, just where his Master’s had been.

Anakin, oh his poor sweet child, how could this have happened?

First Cody and the 212th, now Anakin...

“O’Buir?”

No, oh no, oh sweet Force, please no. 

Boba.

Boba couldn’t see him like this, he was still so young. His little one.

He’d been 24 when he’d gone through this, and if he hadn’t had Jango, and the responsibility of needing to make sure Anakin was ok, he would have crumbled, Boba was still 13, oh his sweet baby...

“O’Buir, no! No!”

He turned his face at the scream to see his youngest child, a great effort, but one he had to make. The boy practically flying across the ash and gravel to get to him, slipping as he went, before throwing himself to Obi-Wan's side. Boba's worry and fear and pain caused a deeper ache than the hole in his chest, tears slipping down his ad’ika’s face.

“Oh, ad’ika, I'm so sorry.”

“No, no, you’ll be fine. Buir will get here, you’ll be ok.”

“Bob’ika, little one, I regret so greatly that I... will not see the brilliant man I know you will... will become. I'm already so... so proud of you, dearest, and you’ll continue to do me proud.”

“No, you can’t leave us. You can’t leave me.”

Boba's hand was in his, and he mustered almost all the strength he had to raise it to cup his youngest’s cheek, using his thumb to wipe away the tear tracks.

“I will always... watch over you, Bob’ika. I love you, little one. Never forget that.”

“Noooo!”

That was not Boba... but of course Boba would not have come  here alone.

There was a presence on his other side, and hand checking his body, finding the deep wound in his chest, a hand cupping his face and guiding their eyes to meet.

“Obi, Cyar’ika, no.”

“Jango... my love, I’m so sorry.”

“No, you can’t leave us. We still need you. I cannot lose you.”

“He took her... Jango, please” he broke off with a cough before letting his eyes fall closed and continuing, “you must find... them, cyare. Save them.”

“Cyar’ika? Who... who did they take and who took them?”

“Padmé, Vader took her... please, find her.”

“I will, I will I promise.”

“And Ahsoka... she's still alive, I... I feel it. Please please find her.”

“And Anakin, I'll find them. I promise.”

“No, Anakin... Ani’s gone. Vader... I failed him.”

A hand brushed the tears from his cheek. 

“You didn’t fail anyone. I’ll protect them  cyar’ika . With my life, on my honour. And I'll free the boys.”

“Cody... his mind... their minds, oh Jango, please tell them... I don’t... I don’t blame them.”

“I will, I will, I promise.”

Despite the planet’s nature, he was cold. Even Boba’s hand around his, face buried between his shoulder, chest and neck, felt as though they were fading away.

Jango... his  riduur would protect  their family.

“I love... you both... so much...”

The pain was gone, and he slipped backwards into the welcoming  embrace of the Force.

.

.

.

Jango refused to leave his  cyare’s body where it lay, he had to take Obi-Wan home, to  Mandalore , for a proper funeral, to be given his final rights, as the  Rid’Alor , and as a Jedi. To be placed upon a pyre as was his  peoples tradition. It would be agony, but he had to respect his  cyare’s traditions, his wishes, and allow him the funeral all  Jetiise should have.

He had the horrid feeling the other  Jetiise in the galaxy would not be offered the same.

Nor would Anakin, whose last known location had been the raided Temple.

In his mind Jango saw his ad fall defending the Jetiise ade from his own vode and from the Sith that led them, and shuddered.

They'd managed to get the message of the chips out, they’d managed to do something to help, and he knew that already Jedi and free Vode were making their way to  Mandalore , to safety, but so many had perished, so many of his  ade were enslaved and now communications were so dangerous and unreliable he didn’t even know who lived and who was free, and who else had been taken or killed.

Boba was inconsolable, and Jango had to be strong for him.

He couldn’t break, he couldn’t.

Bitter grief and blinding rage were bubbling in the background, growing, but he could not fall into despair as he had after Galidraan, his  aliit were counting on him still.

Ahsoka and  Padmé ... they needed him, Boba needed him, all his boys needed him.

This couldn’t be another Galidraan...

He wrapped his Obi’s cloak around Boba’s shoulders and guided him back to the ship, his  riduur in his own arms. He'd picked it up on the landing platform, likely where Obi-Wan had dropped it for the fight. He'd planned on giving it back to his riduur, laughing at his dramatic tendencies but... but he’d been too late. He'd failed again.

Boba wasn’t talking, he shook against Jango’s side, eyes not focusing on anything...

He would do anything for Boba not to have seen that, not to have these haunting memories  forever .

But then, he’d have done anything to change all of this. Mind controlled at their conception or not, the Vode were his  ade , and free of Dooku’s control, he’d done everything he could to save them. They were free Mandalorian citizens, they’d chosen to fight for  Mandalore and the Republic against Death Watch and the Sith  Separatists , it had been their choice, and they could have left at any time.

He was glad he knew why they’d turned, led a slaughter suddenly not themselves, because his boys would never have done this. He should have wondered years ago if something like this existed, a failsafe like this, with how immoral the whole operation had been, but he hadn’t...

The chips.

The damned chips.

The chip that nearly killed Tup, that had been in all their heads, that they’d only found a few days ago.

This was their purpose.

This was why the Vode on  Mandalore , and many others had been unaffected, but others...

Even with the message out, with chips being removed and devices designed to neutralise them, it had only been a few days. It hadn’t been enough.

His boys had murdered the  Jetiise . His boys had been brainwashed and mind controlled and forced to murder people they cared about.

And Obi-Wan was gone.

Gone, gone, how could he be gone? The words didn’t make sense, Obi-Wan couldn’t be gone. But he was.

Jango had lost him.

He lay in the ships medical bay, covered with a sheet.

Gone.

He'd failed his riduur.

He'd known it from the second he’d seen Boba crouched over the prone figure on the ash.

He hadn’t looked at the security footage yet, not from the station on  Mustafar or the feeds he’d spliced from the Temple. He'd been too busy searching for Obi, but in hyperspace, headed for the last known position of Ahsoka’s fleet, Boba curled in his bunk, bundled into Obi’s cloak, he finally sat down to watch.

After all, once he had his family together and safe, he’d need to know who it was he was killing for this.

Maybe before he had them all safe, if Obi had been right, and  Padmé had been taken.

Kriff ,  Padmé , his  ad’riduur , mother to his  bu’ade ... he could not fail them too.

Anakin was dead... his eldest child was dead and his wife left alone to grieve and raise their children. Not alone, because clan looked after one another and he’d sworn to  Padmé that should anything ever happen to her or to Anakin or to the both of them that he would protect them and raise them. He would not break that oath.

Oh Ka’ra his eldest was dead and he’d never managed to make up with him. All their arguments, all the anger... but he’d always believed he’d have the chance to save their relationship, that they’d be able to fix their relationship, that once his bu’ade was born, he’d be someone his ad could come to when he had parenting questions.

Vader had taken that from him.

Vader!

Vader had been the one to lead the 'operation' at the Temple, or so newest reports said. Slaughter, was probably a better word, and it burnt to know that his own his boys, had been part of that assault, proof that their minds had not been their own if nothing else. They were  Mando’ade , but initial reports said that not even children had been spared the anti-Jedi purges that were the ‘consequences of their attempted coup’. Those boys would never have willingly harmed a child. Never.

Vader had stolen his ade’s freedom.

Vader had killed Ani, killed Obi.

Vader would pay.

He made it through the footage, barely.  Honestly held more by morbid horror than anything else.

Anything he’d eaten over the last day or so ended up in the fresher. 

Anakin.

Vader was their Ani, their ad, the little boy who’s tugged on his shirt after a nightmare wanting nothing more than a hug and comfort, he’d murdered his own Buir.

He'd murdered creches full of children.

He’d choked his riduur, maybe killed her and their children.

He'd stabbed his Buir through the chest, with a snarl and insults as he died.

He wanted it to be a lie, he wanted there to be another  explanation .

Anything other than that Anakin was gone.

That Vader had destroyed him.

Because the monster that had killed his  cyare was wearing their son’s face, but it wasn’t him.

It wasn’t him.

Not anymore.

Sobs wracked his body for so much of the night. 

At some point he summoned the energy to move, ended up with Boba curled into his lap, weapons close to his hand and acting as a shield for his youngest.

Boba’s breathing, constant and sure, hands fisted into Jango’s clothes, were small comfort in the face of such loss, but knowing even one member of his family was alive and safe was one of the only  things keeping him going.

.

.

.

They dropped out of hyperspace, and his breath hitched.

The Venator had been almost completely destroyed, wreckage strewn across the moon.

He wasn’t sure if he could take Ahsoka’s body within the wreck.

He wasn’t sure if he could take any bodies in the wreck, and if they were all gone...

He couldn’t break. This wasn’t Galidraan. He couldn’t break this time. He wouldn’t break.

But as they approached, he noticed there was a ship, a small fighter, parked slightly away from the main crash... whole.

It was whole.

It was Hope.

They landed next to it, and he cried when the hatch opened to reveal his daughter.

“Oh ‘Soka,” he’d sobbed, trapping her in the tightest hug he could manage, “Oh you’re alive, you’re ok.”

“Buir?”

Her voice had cracked, relief and pain if he had to guess, and she slumped against him.

She was not alone. There were two Vode, Rex and Jesse, trauma and horror etched deep into their eyes and the lines of their faces, bandages on their heads that he guessed hadn’t come from before chips true purpose had just become clear. Far behind them was a mass grave, the helmets of the dead marking it’s position.

A whole ship, only these three had survived.

He let her go and she rushed to Boba, who dove into her arms with a sob of his own and he turned to  address the Vode.

“Boys, what happened? Are you alright?”

“There were chips,” Rex’s voice quivered, pointing to the  bacta patch on his head, “in our brains. One minute everything was fine, the next all I could think was ‘good soldiers follow orders’ and that Ahsoka had to die. She got our chips out, but only ours. Maul escaped, broke the hyperdrive, crashed the ship. There wasn’t enough time to save anyone else.”

“I know. The chips, we found them a few days ago, but we couldn’t raise your comms. I'm so sorry.”

“Sir,” Jesse’s voice was quiet and reserved, and he refused to look up from the ground, “O’Buir and Skywalker... are they?”

He looked back at Ahsoka... she was watching, listening, she had Boba in her arms,  carrying him towards them.

How could he say this aloud?

He had to.

Be brave, be strong, for what’s left of our family...

“They’re gone, aren’t they. That's what I felt.”

“Oh Ahs’ika,” he put an arm round her shoulder and held them both close, “I’m so sorry.”

“Buir...” Ahsoka’s voice was shaky with shock and grief and  uncertainty , “what do we do now?”

“Vader, the  sith that did this, he took  Padmé . We have to find her.”

His  ade steeled themselves, ready for a fight.

Mandokarla ...  aliit protects its own.

“So,” Boba announced, speaking for the first time since they’d left Mustafar, “we’re gonna kill the Sith and rescue her.”

“And free the  vode .” Ahsoka chipped in, anger and pain colouring her voice where it had been shaky before.

Grief would come later, they had family to save.

.

.

.

Anakin Fell and murdered Obi-Wan.

Anakin Fell and became Vader.

Anakin Fell and became Vader and Vader murdered Obi-Wan.

Anakin murdered Obi-Wan.

It was the truth, fact, reality.

It was as real as the body in med bay, the one he’d had to guide his  ade to, to look upon without breaking because he had to be strong for them as they broke down.

It was true.

But he couldn’t get the words out.

Ahsoka needed to know, Boba needed to know, Rex and Jesse, they needed to know, but...

But he couldn’t say it. 

Not yet.

He sat at his desk, finger hovering over the footage like a glutton for punishment, knowing he had responsibilities, knowing he needed sleep, knowing there was so much to do.

Knowing tomorrow they’d be back on  Mandalore , that he’d be giving the  baar’ur Obi-Wan's body to prepare for the funeral, that he’d have to start organising rescue missions and securing  Mandalore’s boarders and a thousand other things.

How could he sleep in their bed alone?

Get clothes and not have to see his, get caff without looking at the tea next to it...?

He stayed at his desk, staring into space and fiddling and half-planning, until sleep took him.

That night Jango’s dreams were dark.

He saw Boba, armed but alone, walking through a dead woodland, dodging the patrols of blank puppets, the slaves, that used to be his brothers. 

Face lighting up, Boba darted towards what he’d seen, and Jango realised too late that it was Vader. He wanted to run after Boba, to scream to pull him back, something, anything, but he couldn’t move.

“Ani, Ori’vod, you’re alive. O'Buir said you’d died, I'm so glad you’re alive.”

The sabre lit red, and Boba came to stop, before taking a half step back, his eyes widening.

“Ani?”

Jango jolted upright at the scream dream Boba gave as his brother cut him down, only to realise the scream was not only in his dream.

Boba!

He flew to his ad’s room, noticing other doors opening as he went.

Boba was on his bed, sitting balled up with his knees to his chest, sobbing into them. 

“Bob’ika?”

“Buir.” his hand shot out and grabbed Jango’s pulling him close. Jango settled himself on the bed with Boba on his lap and let him cry into his chest. He waved off the others and, reluctantly, they nodded and left. He doubted they’d be far.

“I... watched... I watched... the security... the logs... I watched them.” Boba’s voice was hitching, choked with sobs and shame and horror and the words took a second to process, only really making sense when he looked over and saw the inactive  holo disk.

“Oh Boba.”

“I don’t... understand. How...?”

Boba's breath was becoming ragged, short sharp gasps.

“Boba, Boba, breathe with me,  ad’ika .”

“He’s... he’s... he...”

“Boba, with me, ok, in, out, in, and out, just breathe,  ad’ika , in, and out, it’s ok.”

He wasn’t sure how long it took for Boba’s breathing to settle, eventually calming to snuffled, his face  buried in Jango’s chest.

As if watching one parent die once wasn’t enough for his poor youngest, he’d had to see what was on those recordings. Jango didn’t know whether he’d watched the Temple ones or the  Mustafar ones, but either way...

He'd watched his  Ori’vod murder  ade or his  Ori’vod murder his O’Buir.

He was hesitant to check...

But he had to know.

He reached for the holo, looking down to make sure Boba still had his eyes covered, face pressed into his chest still, but before he could flick it on,

“I just wanted to know who Vader was. Buir, I just... I wanted to know who murdered my  O’Buir and  Ori’Vod , who took Padmé. I didn’t, I don’t... how could he do this? I knew he was angry about things, angry at us, but... but... but he... what do we do, Buir. Everything's so... I mean...”

“ Bob’ika ,  Bob’ika , I... I can’t tell you it’s ok, because right now, it’s not, but I'm here, Ahsoka is safe, Rex and Jesse are free and safe, a lot of the  Jetiise and  vode were warned, many of them might have survived too, and we’ll free the others and Padmé. We haven’t lost everything, little one.”

“He Fell, didn’t he?”

“Yeah,  Bob’ika , he Fell.”

His voice was flat as he said it, like he hadn’t even realised it himself until that moment, and he hadn’t...

Anakin had Fallen, to darkness, to Sith. He'd left his Light and his compassion and his family, he’d Fallen.

His ad had Fallen .

Maybe not by choice, maybe it had been the same way the  vode had changed, or how Dooku had taken and twisted his memories, maybe he hadn’t even seen Obi-Wan as his Buir when they fought, but he had Fallen.

The words kept  circling in his brain.

He had Fallen.

He couldn’t work out where they’d gone wrong, how they’d missed it.

Falling was the horror story of the Jedi, the fears whispered to him at night the first time they’d slept together, that Obi was scared to love because if he got too attached, if he could not keep his duties above all else, he’d risk Falling.

Jango hadn’t understood it then.

He hadn’t understood it when the Sith had killed Obi’s Buir on Naboo, the night after when he’d confessed how close he’d come to the darkness.

He hadn’t even understood in the war.

He hated that he understood now.

Anakin had Fallen, he was Vader now. And Vader didn’t see Obi-Wan as his Buir, he saw him as a threat.  Padmé was Anakin’s  riduur , not  Vader's . They were Anakin’s children, not Vader's.

Ahsoka and Boba were Anakin’s  vode , not  Vader's .

He'd kill them all without regret, like he had those ade...

No wonder the  Jetiise feared Falling, if that was what it made them.

Boba's breath evened out completely, and he slipped into sleep.

It would not stay in sleep easily, Jango knew all too well, and it wouldn’t come easily in days to come, so they had to be ready to help each other through this, or they’d fall apart.

“Buir?”

Ahsoka was peering through the doorway,  lekuu twitching with concern.

If he had to guess the others were probably behind her, and they probably wanted an  explanation .

He slipped out of Boba’s grip and tucked him in, then  slipped into the corridor.

“Is he ok?”

“No. He... I need to tell you all something.”

**Author's Note:**

> Mando'a:  
> O'Buir- parent Obi-Wan  
> ad'ika- little child, affectionate  
> Buir- parent  
> Bob'ika- Little Boba, affectionate  
> Cyar'ika- sweetheart, darling  
> cyare- beloved  
> riduur- spouse  
> Rid'alor- spouse of the sole leader  
> jetiise- Jedi (plural)  
> ad- child  
> ade- children  
> vode- siblings  
> aliit- family  
> ad'riduur- Childs spouse. child-in-law  
> bu'ade- grandchildren  
> Ka'ra- stars/ ancient mythical council of elders  
> Mando'ade- mandalorians  
> Ahs'ika- Little Ahsoka, affectionate  
> Mandokarla- the right stuff, mandalorian spirit  
> baar'ur- doctors  
> Obi'vod- older sibling
> 
> Uhhh, soooo, uhh, yeahhhh, please don't kill me. There's more to come, happy things, ish, and I can't post it if I'm dead. Don't you want to see the angst and comfort that follows, what happened to Cody, the other clones and Jedi...? I'm also going to work on a happier AU of this AU. Maybe. Because while this is the second story I actually wrote for this AU, people seem to have wanted me to, I don't know, fix Order 66 properly. Weird.  
> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.  
> My Tumblr is One_Real_Imonkey.  
> Please R+R.


End file.
